I completed my very first charity ride! 40 miles in aid of The Orchid Cancer Appeal. Got up what is for me ridiculously early on a Sunday morning. Had to catch the train at 7am to get to the start well in time to register before 9. As I was sitting there waiting for the ride to start, I was getting more and more nervous. What if it's too far? What if I get lost? I had no need to worry. The route was well marked the whole way, and the 40 miles were no problem at all despite the terrible weather. It was bright sunshine, 30C and not a breath of wind anywhere. I tend to boil when it gets above 20. But I had sunscreen on and kept drinking water the whole way and managed just fine. Not in any record time, but I'm happy with it anyway. Took me 3h15min of actual riding time, pluss a total of 30min break time (a few minutes in the shade now and then and a 15min break half way to eat a brownie). Turned out to be a great day! Now I'm ready for the next one, which I guess will be AidsRide next year. I had better keep up with the training!